“I assure you, I did not.”
“I see that now.”
A brief silence followed.
“I think,” he said more quietly, “that you did me a service.”
She looked at him in surprise. “In what way?”
“Your mother,” he said, choosing his words with care, “There is more beneath her manner than I had supposed.”
Elizabeth’s expression altered – less defensive now, more thoughtful. “She is… anxious.”
“Yes.”
They did not elaborate.
Ahead of them, this time, they heard Jane laughing. The sound seemed to settle the matter.
They walked a little farther in thoughtful quiet. The lane curved gently; ahead, Mr. Bingley’s voice rose and fell in animated cadence beside Jane.
Elizabeth’s composure altered almost imperceptibly. “May I ask you something?” she said at last.
“You may.”
“It concerns Mr. Wickham.”
He was not entirely surprised. She was clever; she wanted to know more. “Go ahead,” he allowed.
“You said,” she continued carefully, “that some men are not equally careful to keep their friendships. I did not understand you then.” She paused. “I begin to think I ought to have done.”
That arrested him. “What do you wish to understand?” he asked.
She chose her words with more deliberation than was natural to her.
“He told me you had denied him a valuable living. He did not mention he received money.”
Darcy’s expression did not change, but something in his attention sharpened. “No,” he said. “He would not.”
They walked several steps before he continued.
“My father intended him for the church. When the time came, Mr. Wickham preferred to relinquish the claim. He requested compensation instead.”
Elizabeth looked at him. “Compensation?”
“A considerable sum,” he replied evenly. “One he accepted freely.”
Elizabeth felt the colour rise in her face – less from surprise than from the recollection of how readily she had believed otherwise. She did not like that he should be the one to expose her error. “And the living?”
“Some years later, when the living fell vacant, he returned and demanded it. By then, it had been promised elsewhere. I declined to reverse that decision… But, to be truthful, I would not have obliged him nevertheless.”
Elizabeth looked thoughtful. “He must have spent that money then.”
“You mean to say he had wasted it.”
“What do you think?”
Darcy stopped and turned to her. “Miss Elizabeth. This is not a subject I like to discuss. But since you have become involved, I will tell you this. Mr. Wickham and I have long parted ways because we are very different. We do not merely differ, Miss Elizabeth. There are injuries that alter one’s estimation permanently. It is a matter of honour.”
